Getting the Most into Life

Child like faith with Dandelion Love

2020-10-07T12:22:00.001-07:00

"Child like faith with Dandelion Love" JUNE 2016

That thought streamed through my heart yesterday as I sat at the kitchen table sipping my coffee and having some quiet time before starting my workday.

In Matthew 18:4 and 19:14 Jesus told us to come to Him as a little child. Not all grown up, with ideas and ambitions, nor with demands. Just come to Him as a little child, free from all the stuff of the world. When we were young - a VERY long time ago - we gave no thought to anything - worried about nothing ( although I understand all little ones do not have that pleasure but this the way it is supposed to be ). Mom and Dad took care of everything. We did not worry over our next meal, how were the bills being paid, would there be a next day. It is a work of our faith to be like that day in and day out with our Heavenly Father as we grow up and become aware of issues and become responsible people of our lives. There is a shift from not worrying about the next day to having a knowledge of dependence on our Heavenly Father to be there for the next day. When we were young we took it for granted but now we understand and we are more appreciative of the fact He is there for each and every day. It is a work of our faith to keep that child like dependence and yet grab hold of the God-given responsibility as He leads.

Anyhow ( rabbit trailing I go ) ...

Dandelions are beautiful to a child. Simple beautiful. They do not look at it with pity, they do not view it as unwanted, they have no thoughts of the damage it can do to a manicured flower garden .. They do not view it as a WEED but as a FLOWER. They simple see a BEAUTIFUL YELLOW FLOWER.

They pick that flower and proudly present the "weed" to their mother with Joy and Love in their heart and wait for that acceptance of "ahh...thank you...that is so pretty" while inside the mother there is a little chuckle of "if only they knew it was just a weed". The mother might put it in a little jar with some water and sit it on the window sill just for a moment. Friends come over and the mother shows off all the beautiful flowers in her garden and when the "weed" is mentioned it is brushed off as "oh, yea Johnny or Susan picked that this morning" as she laughingly brushes it off and turns everyone's attention to the "real flowers".

I want Dandelion Love for everyone. I don't want to feel "sorry" .. Have "pity" ... Look down on .. Feel like "that person really needs help" .. Lower anyone ... Set aside for the more beautiful ... Get rid of ... Discard ... Put on the back shelf ...

I want to look and see the BEAUTIFUL YELLOW FLOWER that GOD created.

I want to pick the BEAUTIFUL YELLOW FLOWER and give it to my Heavenly Father and He receives the FLOWER and displays it right along side the ROSE and the GERANIUM and the SUNFLOWER and the IRIS and the rest of His BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS.

I want to see all God's FLOWERS as FLOWERS.

So if you come by my house and see those BEAUTIFUL YELLOW FLOWERS popping up in my yard - please don't judge me as being a poor Gardner. I have always loved DANDELIONS and now even more.

( do you know that every part of a dandelion is useful for good Health -Selah )

DANDELION USE

ONE ON ONE WITH GOD

2020-10-07T12:05:00.001-07:00

JUNE 2016

My favorite worship music is Hillsong. Love it. Bucket list for sure. Will always remember Pastor Houston coming to CBN and sharing God's touch that came one evening as they were in a dry place and seeking God's direction.

When I came to know and understand salvation I remember one of my petitions of knowing this God that I was being taught about was "If You are Real and You are really Who You say You are...You can talk to me just like You do everyone else. I do not need to go to others to hear what You are saying to me". I did not say that with arrogance. I prayed that with a sincere heart.

As I pick up my guitar again and began to sing "my" heart to our Lord I got this scenario in my heart and will try to pen it on paper.

How would it feel as a husband or wife ( and I is neither but this is what I saw in my spirit as I pondered this ) .... if every time your spouse said he/ she loved you that they brought their best friend along to say it for them. If In those intimate times that their friend was there saying all the love things because "they say it better...their words are more beautiful and eloquent..."

Would you not rather that your spouse in their own words and maybe even a little clumsy but with a sincere heart spoke directly to you and not through someone else. Would it be more sincere and meaningful to you to hear it from their own heart and not by way of someone else?

As much as I love Hillsong and they do so much via their songs ....God wants to hear my heart and my words and my voice. He does not want to get to my heart via Hillsong. He wants to hear ME in the sincerity of my heart.

God has always been faithful to talk to me. And He is faithful to listen to me also. Just like a husband and wife desires communication more than anything else in their marriage, our Heavenly Father desires this more than anything else as we walk out our salvation here on earth.

NOT LIKE THE WORLD

2020-10-07T12:02:00.006-07:00

JUNE 2016

1 Sam 8: Israel demands a King. ( to be like the "other" nations ) Selah.

Sitting here in my quiet time ( as much as I can with chicks and doggies and a kitty which helps me to understand Mothers needing space ) and opened the Bible and it fell to this passage. Sometimes I just start reading where it opens to and keep reading until His Spirit starts talking. Sometimes I use a Devotional or maybe I will pull the notes from Sunday's Message or maybe something sparked from a pastor on TV. Don't ever get hooked on "one" way of spending time with the Father. He may want to speak to you via a different means and you wonder why you can't hear from Him. Sometimes I don't even open the Bible but just take some time listening and He begins to talk - many people in other nations do not even have the Written Word - they only have the daily Spoken Word in their heart as they follow Christ.

Anyhow just reading and meditating on this. The people wanted a King, in fact they "demanded" a King. Sorta interesting that we get ourselves in a frizzy sometimes to the point of "demanding" .. hum .. from GOD.

Part of the blame did lie with Samuel's sons who were suppose to be leading the people according to GOD's way, but they themselves had gotten away from GOD. You can not lead people in GOD if you are not being led yourself by GOD. So a warning for me to keep my heart continually seeking after GOD so what I give to anyone is HIM.

The people of Israel were watching the nations around them ( error number one ) and began to desire what they saw ( error number two ) which is sorta like Adam and Eve with the forbidden in the Garden.

When the people came to Samuel and demanded a King, Samuel took it personal. God corrects him gently and tells him that it is not Samuel they are rejecting but GOD HIMSELF. Remember, when people reject what you say or do, it is not you - it always go back to rejecting the ONE whom you serve. We need not take it personal which then enables us to move in compassion for their soul and not resentment for their rejection.

So to my mediation and thoughts .....

The Church should be leading the World in all aspects but yet we fall prey to the deception of the enemy that says we are lacking in some aspect of life. Be it clothing ( yes I am brave enough to speak on this subject ) or sexuality or possessions or even Family. Yes, Family - which has become a major idol in the Christian realm. I was listening to a pastor on James Robinson the other day and he wrote a Book "War of the GODS" and he spoke very clearly on how we have made the FAMILY into an IDOL. Yikes ... I will share on another segment what GOD showed me on this years ago when I decided to follow Him, no matter what or who.

GOD instructs Samuel to allow the people to choose a King ( God is never caught unaware and had already been grooming one in the fields tending sheep ). HE also instructs Samuel to explain to the people what a King will do and demand from them. Demand is a two-way street or a Give and Take you might say. In Chapter 8 verses 10-18 the demands of a King are laid on the table. But still the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel ( remember they were not rejecting him but GOD ) It is good to note that Saul whom the people chose was selected due to outward appearance also. The Desire of the Eye will hook us all the time if we are not careful.

If you will take time and read these verses it is very interesting how they gave up their Freedom and their possessions for the BLING of what they saw on the surface. We need to remember the surface is only polished and shining to attract, but hides what is lying underneath that needed to be polished in the first place.

There is only one thing that satan wants to do .. and does .. every day .. every second. His desire is only to lead people astray from GOD the Giver of Life and to bring them to the same DOOM that is waiting for him at the end of the AGES. Satan is so jealous of the fact that GOD has provided a means for us to fellowship with HIM and better still HE paid the PRICE that we do not even have to earn it, that he works his devious scheme to attract us to make us think we are "missing out" on something that is offered by the world. And when I say "world" I am not talking about person or people in particular as I am talking about a system that operates according to satan's way. He is the god of this world - which means it is under his control - and like a king, he demands. And he demands "more" all the time. He will never be satisfied until you are destroyed.

I am going to touch on the "clothing" mentality in the world today. See, when I was still on the other side of the bridge serving the god of this world - he was very demanding in the aspect of my body. There is a reason that when Adam and Eve gave up their Freedom in the Garden and opened the world to satan's kingship, GOD came and clothed Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness. They tried to do it themselves but the exposure they created demanded more than what they could do themselves to coverup or regain back what they had. To every RIGHT there is a WRONG and this goes for everything that GOD created. GOD created us to be beautiful in ourselves as the exact Image of GOD - and satan does his work to destroy us because he knows what the Exact Image of God is and he hates us for it and tries to keep us from the true beauty which radiates from within not without. Satan strives to have us working on the Outward beauty which will fade away with time and age.

As God covers and protects - satan uncovers and exploits for his own use and depravity. In my years before Christ I thought to be beautiful and accepted I had to exploit myself and expose myself to be like the world. I thought I had to dress like the world not understanding that the world was only working to destroy me and to keep me from the One who created me to be the exact image of Him and that the Beauty was from the Inside Out. When Adam and Eve opened the door for satan to have the right for kingship on earth - it opened up a kingship of "demand" and "exploitation" of what GOD had originally created. Satan will always attempt to exploit and destroy anything that smells, looks or taste like Heaven. He was kicked out due to his rebellion and he sure is not going to sit back and watch as we enter into the Blessings of our Creator without doing something to try and derail us.

One of the first areas of the Holy Spirit working on my outside once He was established on the Inside was the ways I dressed this Vessel of God. No, I did not get my hair pinned up in a bun or wear dresses to the floor to cover my ankles but I did begin to allow the Holy Spirit to instruct me in how to dress this Vessel for God's Glory so that I was not attracting by merely the outside but with what God was depositing on the Inside of this Vessel He had taken Ownership. And I began to live in true Freedom in this area of my life. I was no longer seeking after the world's way for acceptance - I was seeking after that inward satisfaction where I could be out there in the world but the world did not hold the "demand" on me to be like it. So the more I grew to know and understand the Lord Jesus the more I began to cover up and protect the vessel He had chosen to take residence. If we understand that the Father through the presence of the Holy Spirit dwells within this vessel it sure changes how we dress, feed and present our vessel. If we understand how satan desires to steal, kill and destroy this vessel through whatever means; whether physical means or immoral means, I think we would be a little more wise and careful as to what we allow and how we present our vessels.

I have had moments where I struggle with this but I always come back to the heartbeat of Christ and what His Purpose is on Earth and in and through this vessel that I have been given ownership of. Some may argue that they are not doing anything particular in order to be defiant with God or be like the world - but I argue the fact that I had been there and done that. If I look in the mirror and view my appearance as "appealing" or "to be desired" then I question my actions. If my heart is to reach people .. I must desire them to see past the physical as the physical is temporary but the Treasure of the Kingdom hidden in my spirit man is eternal. I am not stating we must look like Rug Rats but there is a dimension of Christ that attracts people to Him that makes a difference for eternity in their lives that goes beyond our physical outward appearance. One lady pastor put it this way when she would prepare to preach - she would raise her arms to praise the Lord and in doing so making sure what she had prepared to preach in did not distract from what she was preaching about.

In the Garden when GOD had created Adam and Eve or mankind in His Image - HE had clothed us with His Holiness and Righteousness and His Glory. When we became NAKED before GOD and lost this Covering He had to provide a temporary covering until Christ completed the Work on the Cross to bring us back to the original Image which we will see once Christ returns.

Satan is always at work for us to "uncover" and "expose" and be "naked" in sensuality which perverts the purpose and plans of God for our vessel.

You need only to read the newspaper headlines and you see this in full play via Sex Trafficking and other perverted actions that humans do to other humans whether man or female.

The clothing industry has devalued the human body to be a piece of meat on display for whatever usage a person would deem fit. And the Church has swallowed it hook, line and sinker to be "part of the crowd" and to "fit in".

It begins as being "cute" with little girls and we allow our little ones to fall prey to every demon of depravity and then we sit back and "wonder" how these young ladies could go that way or do such things. They were exposed to his tactics as little girls in wearing "cute" exposing clothing and then he demands more as they grow older. If they are not nurtured in a loving and accepting environment then they begin to give more to the god of this world looking for love and acceptance. We can point our finger and our words all we want - but we need to start taking responsibility and taking our children back from the world's way of thinking about ourselves or viewing ourselves.

We need to begin to choose to "cover" and "protect" that which God sees as sacred and of value just like He did in the Garden when He "covered" Adam and Eve with the skins of animals. If God saw the danger in the "exposure" via the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil .. we must also see the danger of exposure and choose to value what God values and to cover what God covered from the very beginning.

When I look in the mirror I want to see what pleases God .. not what pleases man. To go even deeper when I look into the resources of my soul, I want to see what pleases God .. not what pleases man OR myself.

MORNING TIME

2020-10-07T11:59:00.008-07:00

APRIL 2016

Friday's are my very slow mornings. Every morning is slow for me as I am not a morning person but Friday's are my "hey, it's ok to be slow today so slow down even more and enjoy" kind of mornings. So I got my Giant Blueberry Pancake together and in the oven and putting my water on for my coffee and getting ready for some "Him and I" time and just sitting down and talking.

And I got to thinking about this and relating it to a husband and wife sitting down in the morning getting ready to start their day and talking and enjoying a cup of coffee and they think and talk about the day ahead.

And then I got this horrid image of a wife sitting there and asking about this and asking about that .. "When are you gonna fix that pipe .. When are you gonna do something about that thing in the garage .. When are you gonna fix that hole in the wall ... When are you gonna talk to your son about his actions .. When are you .. When are you .. What are you gonna do about this .. What are you gonna do about that ..."

And the husband is sitting thinking " I just want to spend time with you and chat about us. enjoy us.

And then the horrid image of the husband to the wife " why are there dirty dishes the sink .. When was the last time you washed clothes ... What is for dinner ... Why do you wear that thing ... Can't you at least put some makeup on ... This house is a mess .. ".

and the wife is sitting there just wanting to hear words of encouragement from the man whom she looks to for guidance and protection.

So this got me to thinking about my morning time with HIM.

My morning time with our Lord is not my time of petition. Oh, sometimes as we are sitting there and talking back and forth I will venture into that area .. But I so need to sit at His feet as the wife does and hear words of affirmation and encouragement. And our Lord never comes to our coffee time with a list of failures from yesterday. He always comes with Words of wisdom and encouragement for "today". We may discuss those failures from yesterday but He never brings it up and throws it in my face.

My morning time is not a time where I site everything wrong with the world and why is HE NOT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! My morning time is a time of reflection of His Goodness in my life. Looking into His Word and reading of His Love and His Desires for me to live a life filled to overflowing with His blessings. My morning time is a time of giving Thanks for His Mercy and His Grace. My morning time is a time to reflect on "if it hadn't been for Him in my life .. Where would I be" .. My morning time is a good time .. I get my coffee .. I open His Word .. We sit and talk about Love, Mercy and Grace about life.

I love my morning time with Him. I never get up and feel defeated and deflated and bogged down with yesterday's failures. He has a way of washing that away as we fellowship and I get up with a newness in my heart and mind for facing a new day with Him.

Anyhow .. Gotta go....my water has boiled and my coffee is brewing in my French Press..the oven has buzzed and the pancake is finished baking. The wonderful blueberry smell has filled my kitchen ( and my house ). I will pour my coffee, slice a piece of the pancake onto a plate, drizzle some Maple syrup over it for a tad bit of sweetness and sit here and talk to the ONE who has been patiently waiting for me to come and sit.

Have a great day .. He loves you so much .. He truly does .. Easter was about YOU!!!

MIREY CLAY

2020-10-07T11:57:00.006-07:00

JUNE 2016

Psalms 40:2a "He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay"

Have you ever seen quick sand or watched people battle in mud? Quick sand has no foundation and both have a suction that seemingly prohibits you escaping it's grasp.

Sitting here thinking on God picking us up out of the miry clay as the Psalms states and got such a picture of this.

There we are, stuck in the pool (pit) of destruction, trying, grasping at the walls, trying to get out. With quick sand the more YOU struggle the deeper you sink. In mud, you keep sliding right back down into the pit. There is no sure thing to grasp hold of to get yourself out.

What I saw was two different scenarios and both with God calling to each. The one hears but keeps trying on his own and keeps slipping and sliding deeper. The other hears and looks up and all he does is reach up and allows God to reach down and pull him up out.

This speaks of Salvation in Jesus......and then I believe this speaks of our daily life situations where we can either try to do it ourselves or we can continue to look up and reach up and allow God to lift us up everyday out of the muck and miry of life.

The Mucks and Miry will happen. There is an enemy of your soul that works 24/7 to try to kill, steal and destroy. Until Jesus comes and sets up His Kingdom in the physical where every eye will see and behold Him, we will have muck and miry.

So if you feel life "sucking" you down....look up and reach up... His hand is always extended to take you and bring you up and set you upright again on that sure foundation of Jeses.

Psalms 40:2b "And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm"

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL

2020-10-07T11:55:00.001-07:00

DATED JUNE 2016

Mirror Mirror on the Wall ... (Tell ME what I want to hear) ...

Remember the story .. the Queen who had a mirror reassure her of her beauty and status in life ... Remember when the mirror learnt about SNOW WHITE ...Remember the Queen's jealousy rage .......

Do we do this?

I have this mirror I bought for like 3-5 bucks .. and trust me the image I see is about 3-5 bucks worth.

I look at myself in it and totally dislike what I see ... and have to go to another mirror of greater value to see myself as I am.

I've been thinking on this in several different views ... I do have that ADHD or whatever brain .. zoom...zoom...zoom .. sorta like Skooter the Cat when he gets in one of him hyper moods..and he is zooming all over the house.. which usually results in something getting broke...but the trip is so much fun!

anyhow ... back on course here ....

So many times we are like the Queen ..going to the MIRROR/People and wanting to hear what we want to hear ... tell me how beautiful I am .. tell me how much better I am than others .. tell me what I want to hear . (even though we know that what we want people to say is only to cover up what we know is deep inside us)

So if this MIRROR/Person doesn't give us what we want .. we go to another Mirror/Person .. and to another Mirror/Person... sorta like going into those rooms set up with all kinds of mirrors .. some make you look short .. some make you look tall .. some VERY SKINNY .. some overly plump ... and we try to find that one that satisfies "me" ... but somewhere in there is the REAL deal Mirror and you can see yourself as you really are .....

Can I just throw this out here .. well I am writing this so I guess I can .. because this hits my heart/life as much as anyone else and I can only speak and write those things that God has already pointed out ..or pointing out in my own life. I am not exempt from my own writings. In fact my writings pour forth from a heart/mind/spirit/soul that is constantly being massaged by Gentle Hands at work to make me like He Is.

There is nothing wrong with needing to be encouraged, to be strengthened, to be lifted up, to be loved, to be inspired, etc. We all need this in our lives .. but we benefit more when we GIVE this, then when we sit and EXPECT this. Make sense?

And people are just people .. with the same wishes, desires, expectations, faults, shortcomings ..etc. Sorta like those mirrors with all the twisted images. Whatever mirror we look into is the same image we will walk away with.

There is One Mirror that is stark naked .. and so many people fear it .. and will not attempt to look into it. This Mirror lays it bare .. tells it like it is ... exposes .. reveals .. no twist .. no hidden agenda .. no "you bless me and I will bless you" .. is Perfection at it's HIGHEST .. no blemish is hidden .. no spot is hidden .. unclothed .. you see YOU ...

BUT .. the difference in this Mirror .. is this Mirror provides a new Image for you to walk away with .. if you want to. Oh, you still have the option to walk away from this Mirror and hold onto what was revealed to you .. OR .. you can exchange the Real Image of YOU - and take on the Image that this Mirror PROVIDED for you ... to give you back Your Original Image you were created as.

This Mirror will take your shame, guilt, burdens, unworthiness, bitterness, hatred, envy, unforgiveness, .. well .. let's just sum it all up in the one word we all like to avoid .. SIN ... our fallen nature .. that separation that happened in the garden .. that unclothed us of His Glory and left us naked. ( that word naked means more than what we see with our natural eye)

This Mirror takes our SIN and in exchange gives us LIFE, JOY, PEACE, FORGIVENESS, LOVE, WORTH ........

Unlike the other Mirrors/People we run to who only satisfy us with words that last only until we walk away ... This Mirror will give you WORDS that will last throughout Eternity.

So sad that this Mirror is presented sometimes with a voice that shouts at your SIN and Condemns you ... and the very reason a lot of people avoid this Mirror ...

I know it is hard sometimes to see yourself as you really are .. it is painful .. it is shameful .. it is what we are ...

I, myself, have grown to love this Mirror. When I first came back to this Mirror after walking away in my teens .. I was totally awestruck at the TRUTH of this Mirror. Here finally, when presented in TRUTH, I found a Mirror that allowed me to see myself as I truly was .. BUT .. gave me a New Image to walk away with .. that helped and still helps me daily to view myself as this Mirror desires for me to see myself.

This Mirror has brought such freedom to my heart/mind/soul/spirit and I no longer desire the other mirrors that told me what "I" wanted to hear .. but never did/do they hear the very cry of my heart/mind/soul/spirit.

I have learnt to sit at this Mirror daily and allow this Mirror to cleanse whatever has marred the Image in my life ...

I have learnt that the "person" I was before I allowed this Mirror to change the Image in Me .. is no longer who I am .. that was the person I was .. and now it is no longer I who live .. but this Mirror Image lives in me ...

I have learnt to live in the Freedom this Mirror gives .. daily .. free from SIN ( the initial ) and the condemnation, shame and guilt this SIN had on my life ...

I have learnt that whatever I may fail at in not allowing the TRUTH that I find in this Mirror to come forth each day .. is washed away when I sit at the Mirror and allow this Mirror to bring a fresh exchange in my heart/mind/soul/spirit.

I desire no other mirror/person to tell me WHO I am or WHAT I am .. I know that when I look into this Mirror . I find I AM MORE than a Conqueror .. because this Mirror provides that for me ...

To sum this up .. Emily Plater preached a couple Sundays ago at our church .. and the thought just came back to me.

I wish I could remember everything she said .. but this one thought stuck with me. She shared concerning when we are dealing with little ones in Children's Church .. and if we can get the child to look us in the face .. eye ball to eye ball .. we have made entrance into their heart and mind .. they are come to that moment of TRUSTING us with their very soul .. and what a tender important moment that is. Only then can we work on their heart as they submit to us by looking us in the eye ... and we must be ready with LOVE and FORGIVENESS when they open up and TRUST us with their very SOUL.

You know how we try to avoid people .. what do we do .. we tend to avoid looking them in the eye .. we think .. "If I just don't look them in the eye .. they won't see me .. I don't have to make contact.. I am not obligated"

Think now of when you are trying to get someone's attention .. you want to say something important to them .. you want to warn them of something .. you want to say "I love You" .. you want to smile at them and give them encouragement ... and they on the other side are avoiding your glance because .. they think you are disappointed with them .. they are afraid to look due to fear of rejection ... they don't look because the last time they looked it resulted in condemnation or punishment ...

This is one reason why I totally dislike the "bible thumpers" who stand on the street corners yelling out condemnation and waving the BIBLE like a FLAG of vengeance.

Here is God ... looking at us ..trying to catch our eye .. searching us out .. wanting to look in our eyes .. waiting for us to TRUST HIM .. waiting for us to LOOK HIM IN THE EYE ... and when we do .. He wants to look US in the eye .. look deep into our soul ... and say something like this which you find all through out His MIRROR/BIBLE ( you knew where I was headed didn't you)

"I know you .. I know your ups and downs .. I know your failures .. I know your SIN .. I know your shortcomings .. I know how you attempt to do good .. I see it all .. I UNDERSTAND ... I totally GET IT as Pastor Ben says ... I see your hurt .. I see your pain .. I see your tears .. I see your fears .. I see everything about you ...and ... I TOTALLY LOVE YOU! Totally, with no strings attached .. Totally with no expectations .. Totally from the depth of My Heart .. I TOTALLY LOVE YOU! .. Come .. sit at My feet .. look in to my Mirror/Bible .. see your fallen nature .. understand what holds you back .. look Me in the EYE .. TRUST ME as you look into My Mirror/Bible and see yourself as you really are .. and look into My Mirror/Bible at the Great Exchange that I have for you .. not Condemnation .. but an exchange .. Imagine yourself as you sit and read ... your very heart and soul is revealed ... you see, understand, acknowledge what we BOTH see and you unclothe yourself before me and I give you new clothes to wear .. and tomorrow when you sit before ME again .. and you see those clothes had been marred by the world .. you unclothe yourself again .. and allow Me to clothe you fresh .. each and every day ... stripping off the world and renewing yourself in My Mirror/Bible ..

Go ahead .. Look ME in the EYE .. Look at ME .. FACE to FACE .. and SEE and FEEL and UNDERSTAND MY LOVE FOR YOU .... FOR YOU .. TRUST ME ... You can truly TRUST ME. I TOTALLY LOVE YOU..AND I MEAN "YOU" ... "

MERCY TRIUMPHS

2020-10-07T11:48:00.007-07:00

James 2:13b "mercy triumphs over judgement"

I will one day stand before the JUDGE of this Universe to give an account. And as in any Court of LAW - there is the JUDGE, there is the defendant, there is the Prosecutor.

The Prosecutor will give every bit of evidence as to why I should be condemned. The lies, the thoughts, the actions, the disobedience, the self pride, the unforgiveness, the judging, the anger, the etc,etc,etc .. SIN.

and I will look at the JUDGE and have no other choice but to say "guilty as charged"

BUT THEN ... my (our) Attorney who was appointed by the Court ( Heaven ) will step forth in my (our) defense ..

"JUDGE, this woman standing before you for sure is guilty of all the crimes against YOUR LAW ... she truly is destined for hell and should pay every punishment that is due for the crimes she has committed ... but JUDGE ... she has accepted the EXCHANGE that the Court ( Heaven ) has offered her .. she has acknowledge her sins, she has bowed her knee, she has accepted the EXCHANGE that the Court (Heaven) has offered to her .. she knows and understands that is not by her own merits, not by her own strength, not by her own wisdom, not by her own works, not by anything she has done or can do or will do that will allow her FREEDOM for and from the sin that she has committed against this Court (Heaven) .. she understands that the total payment for all she has committed is wrapped up in the EXCHANGE and forfeits every right of her own to allow the EXCHANGE to set her FREE from the chains of SIN and DEATH and will allow her to walk in FREEDOM for all Eternity"

My (Our) Attorney will look over at the Prosecutor and say " She is FREE and FORGIVEN and you have LOST another case in this COURT."

Trust in the EXCHANGE that the JUDGE of all the UNIVERSE has FREELY GIVEN to Whomsoever - and that means exactly Whomsoever ......

Thank You JESUS for being my EXCHANGE - Giving me FREEDOM and LIFE MORE ABUNDANT - for ALL ETERNITY.

IN IT FOR LIFE

2020-10-07T11:47:00.001-07:00

dated FEB 2015

Months ago I started a new way of eating to gain my health back. The previous year I had squandered my health with excuses. Instead of me being in control I allowed circumstances to be in control. So shortly after Christmas I looked at myself with open eyes and open heart. I had gain much weight and had grown into clothes that I never thought I would wear. I went cold turkey on several things in my eating habits, sugar, flour and pasta. It is so like me to just "do it". I am one that it may take a while to get to the point of change but once I am to that point, there is no playing with the piper.

I had done this years ago when I lived with Luella and had great success but this time there was no Luella. There was no one who had a healthy cooked meal sitting on the table when I got home from work. There was no Luella helping with healthy ideas and yes even supply. So I prayed and asked God to give me some guidance, some help. I started seeing this FB Page popping up called "Trim Healthy Mamas" and began to follow it. I am not a "diet" person. Diets are for people who want a temporary fix with the intent to return to what was, once they got what they wanted. This THM seemed different. I did some reading on the sisters who own the THM and noticed a friend who was following the FB Page begin to change. I begin to understand these sisters "lived" this way 24-7. It wasn't a FAD they were following. It was a lifestyle they lived. So......I bought the book. I was looking for a "lifestyle change" something that would last and be there 24-7. New ways of eating were introduced to me. Understanding of where I was in life and my body chemistry begin to make sense as to "why" I could not do what I did 20 years ago. And it is working ... 60 pounds released from this body and more to be removed in time. Have I arrived? Absolutely not! But I have achieved more than weight loss. I have begun to take back what is mine and become responsible for what God has given to me...LIFE.

So I started following a couple THM FB sites that are there to encourage others with ADMIN's who give freely of their time to answer questions and help others along this journey to HEALTH. And I began to notice something....some people are in 24-7 and get it. It is not a "diet" to just get something and go back and it is a "process" not a quick fix. Others who have not surrendered to the 24-7 lifestyle and the "process" get upset and frustrated and want to bail out. It is not what they "expected".. the results are not "instant" and it is a little bit of work with a "thought process". And they make me think ..........

I remember years ago when working at CBN and hearing about the man who owned Playboy. He had been in a really bad accident and was paralyzed. He apparently had come to the Lord and was changing his life. BUT ... there was one problem. He was expecting that quick fix and that GOD would heal him and get him out of the wheel chair .. but it did not happen. In anger because God did not work as he thought God should .. he returned to his lifestyle and determined to make the magazine worse than what it ever had been. Of course I do not buy the magazine so I do not know if what it was before was mild to what it was after his decision to return to the old man ... to me it was BAD to begin with so how could it be BADDER :)

As I compare the two - in the natural and in the spiritual .. this makes me think .. of those who come to Jesus for that quick fix. I fear too many people come with lofty ideas of how their life will and should change after turning it all over to Jesus. They come with "reserves" in their heart thinking that maybe Jesus can just help them out of where they are .. that once back on their feet they can just return to what was. Jesus is only quick fix .. until things get better. They know they are in need of change but they have not decided that it is a 24-7 LIFESTYLE change. They see things working in other lives and they want what they "see" but they do not understand that what they see is just "surface" .. that underneath is being laid a Foundation that when the Winds of Adversity in LIFE come .. they will not be shaken because of their FOUNDATION.

How is this Foundation laid? A foundation is laid with "purpose". A foundation is laid with the understanding that it is what holds up the rest of the house and keeps it level. I see towns where tornados rip through and everything is blown away .. but the foundation. That foundation is still there for them to BUILD UPON AGAIN. It seems they have lost everything .. but the FOUNDATION is still there waiting for them to rebuild.

When I came to Jesus I made a covenant with God. I only asked Him to show His Presence in my life by releasing me from the bondage of smoking. I had started back to church and tried to quit smoking but I couldn't. I chewed gum, ate candy, whatever but still smoking. And I felt like a hypocrite going to church and coming out and lighting up. But it was what it was until .. see going to church began to open my eyes and heart to who God was. I wasn't there yet but I was learning. I hear the old saying .. the church is full of hypocrite's and that is correct "to a point". But that is another rabbit trail for another time. So I asked Him to show Himself true in my life by taking away my desire. I told Him I accepted everything I heard and was receiving His Truth by Faith and that I received what Jesus did on the Cross by Faith and accepted His death for my death. I just accepted His Truth by Faith and I wanted to know His Presence in a tangible way. Lot of religious folk would say that is not Faith .. but you know what .. GOD showed up and did exactly what my heart needed, to know His tangible Presence in my life. He totally delivered me from cigarettes that day. I had a new pack I had just opened and I crumbled it up and threw it away and that was May 9th 1979. Wow .. someone is getting OLDER!

But that was not my Covenant. My Covenant was this .. "God, if You truly are who You say You are .. and You have truly come into my heart and life and become my Savior ... I will live for You 100%. I lived my life 100% for the devil and now I will live for You 100%"

One thing I have learnt through the years is GOD is not afraid of us ... GOD wants to and will meet us right where we are .. and GOD truly see's our heart and our motives. GOD knows what is real and what is not real.

I wasn't asking for any conditions on His part .. He had already done His Part. And I knew this was a LIFETIME decision. When I started to go back to church and then got Saved someone said to me .. "oh this will last about 5 months" .. well .. 7 years later that person saw it truly was a LIFETIME commitment and gave their heart to Jesus.

I believe in the Blessings of GOD .. I believe He wants us to be the Head and not the Tail .. I believe He wants to Give us ALL GOOD THINGS .. I believe we fall short in living out the Blessings in this LIFE because of our Un-belief and our not walking out salvation and our not speaking forth His Word in our Lives and our NOT DOING ..

BUT ... if we see coming to Jesus to is only about "get what we want" or "get out of a pickle" or "get, get, get" .. then we miss what salvation is and we really have not come to Jesus. And just like the man who was delivered of the demons and he swept his house clean but did not fill his house with the things of GOD .. the demons came back and saw the "empty Clean" house and when and got more demons and the state of his house was worse than what it was to begin with. (and that is another rabbit trail for another time)

So today ... Look to Jesus ... not for what you can "get" .. this World's Way of thinking is all about "What can I get" .. God's Kingdom is all about "what can I GIVE" ...

For GOD .. so LOVED the WORLD .. that He .. GAVE ... that He GAVE ... that He GAVE .. (worth repeating 100 times )

I might not "get" everything in THIS LIFE .. that I want .. but I am so GLAD that I will not GET WHAT I DESERVE when I pass from this Life to Eternal Life with Jesus in Heaven.

A Holy God and A Heavenly Father

2020-10-07T11:44:00.007-07:00

These two titles of God seem so distance but yet they are the same Person of the Godhead.

I believe most people view the "HOLY GOD" title and thus view Him as "demanding, unreachable and untouchable" And the reason we have this view can partly be blamed on the misrepresentation by the Church but I believe this comes from deep in our hearts because "we" know who and what we are.

One of my desires in life as I walk here on earth and work to fulfill God's purpose of my portion in His Kingdom is that people would understand how "reachable" God truly is in the midst of all our Sin .. and our Stuff.

That we could reach God in the midst of our sin .. and the midst of our stuff .. was made real to me as I listened to my siblings talk concerning our father. I realized too late that I missed out on a father-daughter relationship, not because of my Dad .. but because of "me". My siblings would talk about all that our Dad told them or shared with them or whatever ... and I would listen and think "what, I never heard that or shared that" ... and it took years for me to understand why .. and why I stress the reality of everyone being able to touch GOD .. here on earth .. and have a wonderful open vibrant living on going relationship with their Heavenly Father. And why I determined in my heart to not wait till Heaven to experience my Heavenly Father and what He has for me "here on earth as it already is in heaven".

See, I have this speech problem and when I was younger, it was much worse. In order to get the point across I have to state that one person in my life made it very evident that I was wasting people's time if I could not talk without stuttering. Like I had to make sure I could speak it out with no hesitation or forget it. This was not my father .. but due to this I felt like I had to be perfect when I would speak at all to my father. And being under that pressure of perfection made me just say "forget it". So I missed out. I use to long to just sit and talk to my father but I knew that I couldn't do it without stuttering so I just didn't even try.

Many people view God in this fashion. They look at their lives.. they know they have issues .. they know they are not perfect ..they know they have sin .. they know what they did ..they know how they truly are deep inside where no one else see's .. and they say "forget it".

Now, if you only view God as "Holy God".. then our lives do come up short ... we are failures compared to His Holiness ... and there is no means that we can measure up .. in and by ourselves .. to a Holy God .......

But see .. when Jesus gave His Life .. in exchange for our lives .. and died on that Cross .. in obedience to His Heavenly Father ... the CURTAIN in the Temple was torn from Top to Bottom .. this allowed "us IN" .. and brought God Out. Not because of who we are or what we are... but because of Who Jesus is .. and What Jesus Did.

So now .. Holy God .. satisfied with the Work of Jesus on the Cross .. becomes Heavenly Father. There had to be recompense

HE did it ALL for YOU

2020-10-07T11:41:00.002-07:00

Jesus DIED so we would not have to. Really!

There is no way for Jesus to have naturally DIE. He was/is God. God can not die.

Read it. When Jesus was on the Cross, He said "IT IS FINISHED" and BOWED HIS HEAD AND GAVE UP HIS SPIRIT". Luke records. " Father, into Your Hands I commit My Spirit" He did not DIE .. in the sense we think of .. He GAVE through experiencing DEATH for US.

He experienced DEATH and took the Weight of OUR SIN upon Himself so we would not have to Experience Death. He BROKE that CURSE that satan held over our heads.

And He did not just lay in the tomb for 3 days. His Body did. When He bowed and gave up the Spirit so the CURSE could be BROKEN, He went straight from the Cross into Hell and started Stripping the enemy of our soul of the power of Sin and Death. He had to enter Hell via Death but then He came Forth out of Hell with the KEYS that unlock us from the enemies grip.

We miss out when we do not look at the 3 days and 3 nights between the Cross and the Resurrection. The Stuff that happened in those 3 days is just as important as what happened via the Cross and then the Stone Being Rolled Away.

You know all HELL BROKE LOOSE when Jesus stepped through those GATES ... this fallen angel who had held captive the lives of people for years ... was finally at the feet of Jesus .. bowing.. and acknowledging the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ .. and all those in hell witnessed before their very eyes the powerLESS fallen angel whom they had followed and allowed to control them being STRIPPED OF EVERYTHING. And those who were longing for this freedom were RELEASED from the chains and shackles that held them.

When you look at the PASSION - think how much He ENDURED for you - every blow that should have been directed to OUR BACK for OUR SIN .. He endured - He did not call legions of angels to help Him.. He did not change His Mind and QUIT in the Middle .. He could have. He could easily said "Ok.. this is enough- they don't deserve it - I am tired of suffering in their place - there are many who will sneer and reject what I am doing - why should I be doing this for ALL MANKIND ... BUT .... LOVE FOR MANKIND caused HIM TO ENDURE TO THE END.

On the Cross when the Weight of our Sin- the Punishment - was set upon Him to Bare - He who NEVER SINNED and KNEW NO SIN- allowed this - and took our place.. and the Father HAD TO TURN HIS EYE AWAY BECAUSE HE CAN NOT LOOK ON SIN -and the Father and the Son were separated for a moment in time that never happened before and never will happen again - and He bore that separation that has been there between God and Man since the Garden .. and NOW WE NO LONGER ARE SEPARATED FROM GOD BY OUR SIN. That should make ya shout!!!!

When Jesus bowed His Head .. and Gave it Up Himself .. HE took DEATH upon Himself ... satan did not take it from Him .. the CURTAIN in the Temple was torn .. from TOP TO BOTTOM. This curtain if you read on the Temple was several layers thick and had no opening in which to enter. And God when Jesus Bowed and said IT IS FINISHED - took HIS HAND and SPLIT the Curtain from TOP TO BOTTOM and released His Presence to All Mankind. No longer was it just the priest who could enter into the Holy of Holies once year .. but now every man, woman and child could enter in - everyday - 24/7.

There is so much to learn and understand about God's LOVE for US...His Blood.. what it means for Him to have shed Blood for us.. Blood is LIFE.. Blood is Cleasning.. Blood is covering .. in the Holy of Holies the priest once a year would take Blood from animals slainned on our behalf -and carry this Blood into the Holy of Holies behind the Vail and pour the Blood upon the Altar and God would accept this on behalf of all mankind.

Jesus did this ONCE and FOR ALL.. His Death .. His Blood shed .. He carried to the Tabernacle in Heaven .. In John 20 Jesus appears to Mary and she apparently reaches out and is clinging to Him and He says "Top Clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father;.." Scholars say that He had to enter into the Tabernacle in Heaven and present the Blood on the Altar - ONCE and FOR ALL....

When I think over my life.. and even after coming to know Jesus and learning of my Savior and understanding some things.. having made the decision years ago to follow Him .. acknowledge MY SIN and accept HIS PAYMENT on the cross .. I have not been perfect .. I have not always walked correctly or talked correctly .. and I am ever grateful that His Blood on that Altar speaks LOUDER than MY SIN and speaks daily to Our Father of Mercy and Grace and Forgiveness. Does not mean that I willingly abuse the Stripes on His Back . .just means that when I do fall .. that He has RISEN and Taken Back the KEYS to SIN and DEATH and as I reach UP that He reaches DOWN and takes my hand and PICKS ME UP and brushes me off and I continue to walk out this FAITH knowing that one day I will realize 'HEAVEN IS FOR REAL' ..

Now go see the movie.. and realize that HEAVEN IS FOR REAL and HEAVEN WAS MADE FOR YOU AND I. And Jesus provided the WAY .. paid our DEBT .. Released us to LIVE with Him .. took back the KEYS that held us captive and away from GOD.. All you can say sometimes is "THANK YOU JESUS"

FIRE - What kindling do we use?

2020-10-07T11:38:00.004-07:00

Is 50:11 "Behold, all you who kindle a Fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands ....... and you will lie down in torment"

Proverbs 26:21 "Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, SO IS a contentious man to kindle strife"

Sitting here thinking about the ugly stuff going on over in IRAQ .. and other places. . and here at home in America. There are many kinds of FIRES in this world. Most are destructive .. and yet ONE is constructive. I question myself a lot .... what am I adding to each day? Do my words bring life or death? Each of us have an opportunity to either have the embers of the fire to go out .. or to add more wood and cause the fire to increase. What type of fire is it?

A fire is created to bring heat or to burn down. Am I adding to a good fire that gives or am I adding to a fire that destroys? You can look at the world and see many fires burning .. most for destruction and started by man. How do I add to these fires? Mostly by the Words of my mouth. Every day I am challenged in this area.. and that is why every day I must be in His Word so that His Word trumps over my words.

How do I cause a fire to go out? Actually by Words also .. or sometimes by silence. God has a FIRE - His fire is to destroy the evil in this world and to burn and consume the evil in me. Deut 32:22 King David put it so simple "Let the Words of my mouth .. and the MEDITATION of my Heart .. be acceptable in Your Sight" Ps 19:14 "Let my MEDITATION be pleasing to Him.." Ps 104:34 "Oh how I love Your law!

It is my MEDITATION all the day" Ps 119:97 The Kindling we use is the MEDITATION that we gather in our hearts ... if we gather kindling from His Word and being in His Presence then we will build good fires that are constructive .. if we gather kindling from the world . those are the fires are mostly for "dis-struction" . not "con-struction". DIS brings division and CON brings a Gathering together. How i want my words to BUILD, CONstruct, bring together ...... not be "dis" ......

Repent - or - "change your thinking" - Testimony

2012-01-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Heard a Word at church on Sunday on "REPENT". It was enlightening and confirming to my spirit man. The Pastor was sharing from Mark 1:15 when Jesus had just completed the Wilderness experience and John the Baptist was taken into custody by the Authorities. Jesus came to Galilee preaching the Gospel of God saying "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel" The word REPENT here in the original Greek means "metaneo" - to think differently or afterwords reconsider - STRONGS G3340 - associated with "noed" to exercise the mind, to comprehend heed:-consider, perceive, think, understand. STRONGS G3539 I believe the reason it took me till I was 21 to come to Jesus for salvation was due to this very Word, REPENT, which was being misused by so many - in the Church and outside the Church.

I viewed REPENT as something I had to do - without really understanding why I had to do it or what was wrong with how I was doing what I was doing trying to change. ( Were you able to follow this sentence?) The little Church Fellowship I attended as a young girl made me knowledgeable of a Great Big God - and I was a little girl with Great Big Sin and never the two shall meet. Sunday after Sunday I would go and trust me I do not remember every Sunday as this was too many moons ago to mention but I remember always leaving with a sense of loss and I never understood why. And I remember always "trying" - and always "promising" to do better and to be better. But the problem was the "trying" added with not understanding the "why" or the "need" for the better.

After listening to the Pastor I knew I had to pen my thoughts on what God was speaking to me about on the "REPENT" and maybe through putting this on paper I can help someone else move in to the "better" with understanding. I guess I need to go back to when I came to understand what it meant to know God and His Salvation Plan for me, for the World, for anyone who would believe. I had just gone through a searching "for my life" season and wound up back at square one.

MY big plan to become the next Loretta Lynn or Tammy Wynetta and so I quit my job at the local "sweat shop" as a seamstress of four years and caught a Greyhound bus to Nashville TN and was now ready to move on with the deep desire and love of my life - music. I might insert here that those inner desires and dreams of every child are placed there by their Creator and are not "bad" things - if they are pointed in the right direction with the right guidance. Do not squash your child's dream - you could be squashing their entire life. ( that is an entire Blog posting itself. )

I went to Nashville and spent two weeks and then back to PA. I was able visit a recording studio and sing a couple songs for them .. but alas .. No Money means No Singing. It was a little humbling .. no .. it was extremely humbling to pack my bags and return to PA and the "sweat shop" and resume the seamstress position and close the door to the "song" in my heart. But God had a different outlook .. and I am so glad for His Vision which looks beyond all the failures and disappointments in our lives. It's funny how He used the very love in my heart - music - to bring me to Himself and I hope I put this "rabbit" trail on paper.

See one of my grade school teachers ( mind you I am already out of High School for 3 years now ) heard about this "country music" contest on the radio. Anyhow she was getting her hair fixed at Gladys who lived across the bridge in town and hadn't been associated with our family for many years - we had lived on the same side of the bridge as Gladys until we moved when I was in second grade. So Mrs. Malcolm mentioned this contest to Gladys and my name came up in the conversation due to just a year prior I had been singing in a local country band that did the tavern's and fire halls on Friday and Saturday evenings. So Gladys comes to visit my Mom to tell her about this contest and in the meantime I had done a horrible job on cutting and coloring my hair - so when she talked to me about the contest she also mentioned that I come visit her and allow her to "fix" my hair.

So I did just that and positioned myself in her beauty shop chair not realizing that was her means of ministering the Gospel to whomsoever.

Well Gladys began working on my hair - and God begin working on my heart. Her home became my Friday night hangout as I found her love and acceptance of me very drawing and inviting. She shared the simple love of God with me and opened her life and experiences and allowed me to hear first hand how God works or desires to work in any one's life. Every week she would invite me to Church and every week I would say "next week". But she never gave up and she never stopped allowing me to come to her house.

Then .. the day came .. when That Sunday became Every Sunday. I had risen to a beautiful sunny Sunday - and like the typical young teen of my generation went out to worship the sun and pay it's ritual of time. I had blanket in hand, already rubbed in the lotion and into the backyard I went to take in all the rays I could. I spread the blanket out on the ground and laid down and planned on a nice couple hrs of pure sunshine joy. THEN the church bells rang. Now mind you they rang every Sunday and I never noticed them or just accepted them as part of the way of life in a small town. But that day - the ringing of the bells had an added affect in my life.

Every time the bells rang, I heard this VOICE inside me say "You should be in Church". The first time I shrugged it off. It was weird but then weird things do happen in life you know without any explanation. And the Bells rang the Second time .. AND .. the second time I heard the same VOICE say the Same Thing "You should be in Church". Now I must say the Voice was beginning to get my attention. The Bells rang the THIRD time and the THIRD time I heard the SAME VOICE say the SAME THING "You should be in Church". That I could not deny anymore and needless to say the next Friday when Gladys invited me to Church - guess who was in Church that Sunday .. and almost every Sunday since.

I begin by going just to Church. I joined the Choir ( interesting they never made sure I knew HE whom I was singing the songs about ) and was enjoying this. See the difference was this Church never made me feel like I needed to change or anything. Why they never even mentioned the words, SIN or REPENT. That was until I got invited to also participate in Sunday School at the Church. WoW was I then finally in for the life change (repent) that would be the Stamp in my life forever.

The Sunday School class was taught by Edwina - a Spirit-filled Southern Baptist - whom I truly believe God had planted in that church, just for me. Just prior to beginning the Sunday School Class I had taken on the mission to quit smoking. I figured it was very hypocritical to be attending Church and to be smoking also. There were some other aspects of my life that probably were worse than smoking, like my sweat shop language, but my language I could control on Sundays and around them and not show, but the smoking was something they could see.

So I tried .. I did the chewing gum, the lolly pops, whatever to try to keep my thoughts and my fingers off the cigarette package but it was not working. So I resolved that I would just make sure no one at Church saw me and it would be OK. I begin to really enjoy Sunday School class. Edwina was an awesome teacher and I knew there was something different about her. She taught the Word like it was History .. but it was also Alive for today.

She always shared personal testimonies just like Gladys and made me begin to realize that the God of the Bible was alive today and not just stuck in the pages of a book .. and He wanted to be alive in my life. Edwina opened up the Word to us - and I begin to understand a little of who God was, who Jesus was, why Jesus came, what Jesus did, what the Cross meant, and that yes I had SIN in my life but God thru Jesus had come to break thru that SIN and to bring me back to Himself again thru LOVE and MERCY - not thru WORKS and ATTEMPTS on my part.

Edwina taught us two things - to Read the Word and to Pray. And so I began that every morning upon arising and before I caught my ride to work. Gladys had bought me a Living Bible which is much easier to read than King James, so every morning I would make my cup of tea, get my breakfast ready and sit down at the table with Bible and cigarettes in hand and READ and PRAY. Do not tell me that God only hears the prayers of someone who has come to salvation. I do not believe it. I know that He listened from Heaven and bottled every Word until I finally came to understand what it meant to "repent" and "believe". He worked on my heart every morning as I tried to read His Word with just my limited understanding and as I tried to make myself better thru what I could understand of His Word.

And then it happened .. I don't know how .. I can only say it is a God Thing when it happens and that YOU can not make it happen. I begin to understand - I begin to see - and I knew that "I" could not do it. I had to "repent" - to think differently, reconsider - how and what I thought about God and life and everything. I thought "I" had to do it, that "I" had to make myself better, that "I" had to shape up, that "I" ... and the list can go on.

Just like those of old who carried the TEN COMMANDMENTS and tried to measure up. Just like those who thru the years made rules and regulations and tried to measure up to them. REPENT means to open your mind and heart and say "Ahhh" - to see it different - as thru His Eyes and His Heart. It is no other action on our part than to simply see it - and then believe it.

And that is what I did that morning May 9th 1979 - I simply prayed "I do not know if this is REAL - but I am receiving Your Truth right now by FAITH. I accept the FACT that Jesus died on the Cross, that He arose again 3 days later. I accept the FACT that He did it for me. I accept this all by FAITH. And I ask You Father to show me that You have come into my life. If You are Real and if You have come into my life today - I ask You to show me by taking my cigarettes away. I will live for You 100% as I have lived for satan 100%. Even if none of my family ever follow You I choose to follow You today. In Jesus Name I pray - Amen"

I got up from the breakfast table - crumbled up my freshly opened pack of cigarettes and threw them in the garbage - and decided that moment that if God was real - then I was going to follow Him. I had reconsidered and was thinking differently about Who He was and What He wanted in my life. I had chosen to change my way of thinking that He was all about Rules and Regulations to the correct thinking that He was ALL about Love and a Relationship with me. And that has been how many years ago now? Today is 1/2/2012 - and He has never failed me yet - I've been thru some testings and all - But He has always been faithful.

So coming to Jesus is not about "what you must give up". It is all about "what do you think about Jesus". Do you have the world's perspective that entangles you into a list of Do's and Don'ts and keep you from Him. Or can you stop for a moment and listen to HIM with an open mind and heart and say "Ahhh..." and reconsider and think differently on Who This Jesus is? That is how He chooses for us to "repent" and then once we choose to reconsider then we can choose to believe with understanding and move into His Kingdom and all that He has for us. PS .. when I had crumbled up that pack of cigarettes ... that was the last time I had ever smoked or even had a desire to smoke. You can not tell me that God does not allow for us to question Him. He loves us to question - and He Loves to answer those questions. And do you see how He pursued me - throught the Gift that He placed in me and how He used it to bring me to Him. Ever since I have used the Gift of Music to return Honor and Glory to Him. Most people hide their Gifts thinking God will take it away .. why would He take back something He gave. He does not take Gifts back once given. Has He ever taken Jesus back?

Laughter is good medicine

2010-03-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

So many people today just don't know how to laugh .. at themselves. Oh we can laugh at others and their shortcomings, failures, faults, "sins", wrong doing, etc. But how many can look at "themselves" and laugh. I am not speaking of a Put-Down on yourself. I'm talking about being able to look at something that happen due to your own action or words, maybe something you can't control, and see the funny side.

I think the best people who do this are the ones who truly have a handi-cap or shortcoming that somehow they might not have complete control over. Something in their life that could get them on the down side ... but somehow they push up and get on the top side. They choose to look at the problem and make it equal laughter.

Let me give you an example and I hope this makes you get that deep belly roar that just bubbles over.

Most people who have been around me .. ah .. long enough for me to say a couple complete sentences . will notice that I sorta don't speak correctly. I seem to have an issue with getting words out. You might call it stuttering if you want to term it correctly. Now when I first get to know you and talk to you, you notice it. But as I become your friend and gain a trust and get on comfortable ground either I don't stutter as much .. or you don't notice as much.

This issue has caused me some .. can I say FEAR in my life. Especially in school. High School more than Grade School. Seems when we get older with our peers, our weakness make others superior, so our weakness is expounded on in order to make them feel more superior. In High School it was simply horrible especially with the guys. The worse was Fear of being called on in class to answer a quesiton.

Why, I could be talking one on one with someone and be ok, but the moment I was called upon in front of others to talk forget it. Impossible. I used to beg my classmates to take my turn when answering questions going desk by desk. Some of my classmates would do it and allow me to be passed over but there were always a couple classsmates who would not allow me that priviledge of passover for nothing and make me do my part.

Anyhow what I wanted to share was something that happened long after I was out of school. By this time I had managed to handle my issue quite well and still fought the fear but did much better in normal life situations.

My baby sister Denise and I had gone to dinner with girlfriend Lori whom I shared a house with at the time in Va Beach. Lori was and still is your prim and proper christian young lady and that made it even more hilarious when it was all over and done. And I do not say that to discredit her .. it is only that she never would have done this to anyone in her life.

The Waitress had come and taken our orders and asked each of us what we wanted to drink. Lori said her's - and then Denise gave her's - and I was working up to this "question" ( remember..I am fine until I am asked a question ). When she came to me and asked me I thought I was ready. I begin to say "I would like UnSweeten Tea" .. but it came out " I would like some Un-un-un-Sweeten Tea" .. whew. It was out and I only fumbled on one word and felt pretty good with it.

So we sat there chatting and waiting for our food the Waitress came with our drinks. She asked Lori and Denise what they had order and gave them theirs. And then she looked at me and "slapped" me on my arm and said "I remember what you wanted. You made a BIG DEAL about it. You want UN-un-un Sweeten Tea". And the Waitress was serious as serious can be and sat my drink down without any hesitation. Well, my sister and I looked at each other and no sooner had the Waitress turned away from us, we just burst. We laughted so hard we were crying. Lori, my friend, was horrified. She was ready to jump right up and run to the Manager and complain about the Waitress and her insensitivity. I was "no, no, no, that poor girl has no idea". Denise and I laughed and laughed .. and we laugh to this day when we talk about it. That waitress really thought that I was "stressing" the fact that I did NOT want SWEETEN tea but that I wanted UN (and I repeat) UN (and I repeat one more time) UN-Sweeten Tea and mercy all I was trying to do was get the dang word out.

That might have offended some and caused anger and unforgiveness in someone's heart. But I believe that is also being very self centered. See, that Waitress had no idea who I was and that I had a speech issue. It was not obivious to the naked eye. So I had a choice. I could take it as "she doesn't know me and she has no idea and she should be more sensitive, etc" or I could say .. You know what she has no idea and put myself in her shoes and say "yea, she probably thought 'wow, that lady sure wanted to make sure I got the message she does not want SWEETEN TEA'". That to me is funny. Her thinking that .. and me just trying to get the word out.

I share that with everyone and everyone who knows me laughs till they cry. Because they know me - they know how sometimes I am "stressing" to get a word out and not trying to "stress" the impact of the word itself.

I always loved watching the I LOVE LUCY SHOW. Because she always made fun of herself. It's not like comedy shows today where it is always pointing a finger at someone else and their faults or shortcomings or issues. I hope this might make you view things or issues in your life that you might not have in total control .. and get in the shoes of the outsider and view it .. and just laugh ... at yourself.

Getting Started

2009-10-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's almost 10 PM and I need to go to bed. But my interest in learning something new keeps me here just long enough to post a little note.

Many have great thoughts and ideas but never "get started". It's like buying a car and never turning the key over and putting it in drive. You want to go some where in the car and you dream of going some where in the car and you desire to go some where in the car .. and you even "have" some where to go in the car .. but you do not get in the car and turn the key and go some where. That car is not going take you anywhere unless "you" get in and "you" turn the key.

My heart for years has been to write. Thought about it a lot. Have read things that other people have written. Have liked what others have written. But never have I put any action behind the thought. ( that's me in the second row, second from left - senior year in H.S. - part of the Class Newspaper - way back in 1975 )

Just thinking .. what if God had only thought about creating .. but He never created. Guess I wouldn't be here writing this .. and you wouldn't be there reading it.

What if David ( you know King David - before he became King David ) had only thought about writing songs but never put them down on paper. Most of the Book of Psalms would never have been written and we would not have the understanding of God and His Wonders as we do today.

What if Jesus had only thought about going to the Cross .. boy would we be in a heap of trouble still today.

What if Henry Ford would have only thought about the car - but never did any blue prints.

What if Thomas Edison had only thought about the LIGHT - we'd still be in the dark today. Pun intended.

There are many THOUGHTS I sure am glad went beyond the thinking and manifested into the THING.

What if Bill Gates would never have put his thoughts out there ... guess I'd be writing this all by hand.

I remember my Pastor, Bishop John Gimenez, years ago stating "there were many songs, many books, many dreams, lying 6 feet under in many a graveyards"

Just my thoughts ... as I begin this journey of "getting started" what I have thought about for a long time. I'm sure as this begins to bud and come forth it may change from what my first thoughts were ...

but guess what .. I am Getting STARTED!

Don't let Life pass you by

2009-10-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Hitting 52 and knowing there can be many years ahead but yet knowing those years are not as many as when I was 42, or 32 , or 22. I remember when I was "way back" there and thinking 52 was "way out" there .. and yikes It is HERE.

So I am getting out of the boat now of the comfort zone ... and exploring new roads .. but truly depending on the Lord to lead me.

Blogging has always seem a far-a-way Land to me ... I read other Bloggs and wishI could .. well .. now I can. I love to talk .. which is amazing for someone who "stutters" .. So it just takes me a little lonnnnnger to get it oooout .. but I have your attention a liitttttle longer also.

Am buying my FIRST ever home .. a really big stretch for me .. for the dollar also .. but I want that now in my life. I could have gone to an apartment ( and might in the future, who knows ) but I wanted "my own Home" for a while - hopefully till "then" gets here so we'll see. Many people are afraid of "then" so much they don't live in the "now" and enjoy the "now" and put as much into the "now" as they can. "Then" will come .. no doubt about it but what are you doing to do about the "now". God wants us to live in the "now". He'll take care of the "then" and the "hereafter" also if you allowed Him in your "now".

Ok .. gotta run "now" and get ready for work ... excited about my new venture and sharing some things with whomever enjoys reading .. and hopefully I'll encourage ya to Put the Most into LIFE Today "NOW" and let the "then" in His Hands.